Is Race a Risk Factor for the Development of Renal Artery Stenosis?

Atherosclerotic renal artery disease is a common cause of hypertension and chronic kidney disease that may progress into end stage renal failure if not diagnosed and treated early. Renal artery stenosis (RAS) has been shown to be an independent risk factor for mortality in patients with coronary artery disease. We sought to determine whether race is an independent risk factor for developing RAS. A retrospective study was conducted including 324 patients with resistant hypertension who underwent renal angiography with or without coronary angiography. In univariate analysis, Caucasian race was associated with significant risk of RAS (OR = 2.3, P = .01). However, this association was no longer significant after correcting for additional clinical variables in a multivariate model (OR = 1.5, P = .07). There was a strong association between smoking and RAS (OR 2.0, P = .02). We conclude that traditional risk factors, especially smoking, rather than race, are the most important predictors of RAS development

Electromagnetic Interference between External Defibrillator and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy‐Pacemaker (CRT‐P) Devices

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87098/1/j.1540-8159.2011.03130.x.pd

Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Presenting as High Output Cardiac Failure during Pregnancy

High-output cardiac failure secondary to hepatic involvement is a rare complication of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). Here we report a 43-year-old woman who presented at 29 weeks gestation of her second pregnancy with complications of right-sided heart failure and preterm labor. After delivery via cesarean section, the patient was found to have intrahepatic arteriovenous malformations through non-invasive imaging. Subsequently, a family history of vascular malformations and epistaxis was elucidated and a diagnosis of HHT was made. This case is presented, along with a review of the literature and discussion of hepatic involvement in HHT with particular focus on the pregnant patient